by Peter Singer
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by Peter Singer
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~ Goldfrapp
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by L.N. Tolstoy
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Philosopher, professor of bioethics and founder of the modern animal rights movement, Peter Singer has selected some of his best work for inclusion in Writings on an Ethical Life. Among the subjects covered are animal rights, abortion, euthanasia and the ethics of our accountability for the world’s poorest people.
Singer’s views are still controversial but the substance of his arguments are surely right--whether we like it or not. Take for instance, his view that a non-human animal such as a dog or a pig, will often have superior capacities than a severely defective human infant--a view that caused outrage. The reason for the outrage reveals much about our human-centred view of the universe which resists any attempt to compare human beings with animals, a tradition that is humanist as much as it is Judeo-Christian. A recent example of humanist resistance to the view of ourselves as animals is Kenan Malik’s Man, Beast and Zombie, which tells us that such comparisons are not only degrading but likely to undermine our view of ourselves as rational, autonomous beings.
Singer, like fellow moral philosopher Mary Midgely, rejects this view. Singer observes;
"We like to think of ourselves as the darlings of the universe. We do not like to think of ourselves as a species of animal. But the truth is there is no unbridgeable gulf between us and other animals. Instead there is an overlap. The more intellectually sophisticated non-human animals have a mental and emotional life that in every significant respect equals or surpasses that of some of the most profoundly disabled human beings."The only thing that can prevent us from seeing this, Singer argues, is human arrogance. That arrogance manifests itself as "speciesism"--a form of prejudice Singer sees as continuous with racism and sexism. Just as racists and sexists violate the principle of equality by giving greater weight to the interests of members of their own race and/or sex when there is a clash between interests so "speciesists allow the interests of their own species to override the greater interests of members of other species."
Clearly written, accessible, disturbing, humane and largely irresistible Writings On an Ethical Life provides a new ethical outlook and a new self-image for Man which deepens and extends liberal principles while criticising and updating the humanist tradition. Highly recommended. --Larry Brown
Review
'Singer's influence extends to the world beyond the ivory tower because he writes with such lucidity and passion about genuinely pressing questions. Disagree with him as you may, Peter Singer is a force to be reckoned with.' Economist 'Peter Singer is one of a rare species: the practical philosopher. His publications on animal rights, euthanasia, justifiable infanticide and ethical foreign policy have often resulted in changes in the law. Writings on an Ethical Life presents an excellent opportunity to read in collected form what in many cases are the definitive texts from which entire movements have been born.' Sunday Herald 'Singer writes with cool lucidity, passing patiently from premise to conclusion, always nudging his readers to question their own prejudices. Daily Telegraph 'Peter Singerhas probably had a larger popular readership than any professional philosopher since Bertrand Russell, and more success in effecting changes in acceptable behaviour.' The New England Journal of Medicine 'Peter Singer is the most influential living philosopher. We need people like him to keep us honest, make us think and help us to be better than we presently are.' Independent
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